How to Use exacerbate in a Sentence

exacerbate

verb
  • His angry comments have exacerbated tensions in the negotiation process.
  • The proposed factory shutdown would only exacerbate our unemployment problems.
  • This exacerbated the split, on and off the bench, between left and right.
    John A. Farrell, Smithsonian, 21 Mar. 2017
  • The key to choosing a night cream for oily skin is to find a rich cream that won’t exacerbate your skin type issues.
    Daley Quinn, Health, 17 Feb. 2023
  • The kind of disease exacerbated by climate change is not new to the reefs.
    Evan Halper, latimes.com, 9 July 2018
  • In fact, research claims that wearing the wrong shoe can exacerbate pain in other areas of the body such as the knees, hips, and even the back.
    Ni'kesia Pannell, Woman's Day, 6 May 2022
  • This trio is free from sulfates (which can exacerbate rosacea) and parabens (which can dry out your hair).
    Isabel Vasquez Rd Ldn, Health, 12 May 2023
  • Springing forward an hour mimics a move from the east to west edge of a time zone and exacerbates the deficits of those already there.
    TIME, 9 Mar. 2024
  • The gap in knowledge that would tend to come about during the summer will be exacerbated.
    John Benson, cleveland, 27 Apr. 2020
  • And in spring, that problem is exacerbated by a lack of numbers.
    Michael Lev, azcentral, 9 Mar. 2020
  • That push and tug, in turn, will exacerbate the gap between the winners and losers going forward.
    Fortune, 1 Mar. 2021
  • This oversight has just been exacerbated by the Google app.
    Kim Sajet, Smithsonian, 16 Jan. 2018
  • Our 911 system has one of the worst response times in the state, exacerbated by a hiring backlog.
    Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024
  • The team asked about certain liver and kidney issues that the drug might exacerbate.
    Eric Boodman, STAT, 9 June 2020
  • The recent hot and dry weather has increased the stress on your trees and can exacerbate chlorosis symptoms.
    Tim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 19 June 2017
  • For many long-haulers, the hope that vaccines won’t exacerbate their illness might have been enough to sway them into getting their shots.
    Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2021
  • That may exacerbate flooding in an area that received more than 14 inches of rain last month.
    Janice Dean, Fox News, 9 Nov. 2020
  • That historic plunge on Monday was exacerbated by a quirk in how the oil markets work.
    New York Times, 21 Apr. 2020
  • O’Gorman said in response to board concerns that driveways and roads would exacerbate runoff.
    Julie Gallant, Ramona Sentinel, 11 June 2019
  • This, of course, is only exacerbated by the weather and students being cooped up in the building all day.
    cleveland, 9 Mar. 2020
  • Being in too big a rush to get ‘back to normal’ can exacerbate postpartum health risks.
    Adriana Gallardo, ProPublica, 10 May 2022
  • That's a slap in the face to educators and will exacerbate our teacher shortage.
    Neal Earley, Arkansas Online, 9 Mar. 2023
  • New York City is sinking at the same time that sea levels around the world are rising, which could exacerbate flooding concerns for the region.
    Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2023
  • As the fighting drags on, concerns are growing that the war could exacerbate a global hunger crisis.
    New York Times, 6 May 2022
  • Never put water on a grease fire, which can exacerbate flames.
    Kolbie Peterson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Aug. 2022
  • There are certain foods and drinks that can exacerbate bloating, and some that may help relieve symptoms.
    Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Oct. 2023
  • But this exacerbates a problem that has existed since the movie.
    Daryl H. Miller, latimes.com, 12 July 2018
  • Recent research has also shown that the vast amounts of plastic pollution in the ocean can exacerbate these threats.
    Aristos Georgiou, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2018
  • That chain of events could exacerbate what is already a severe food crisis plaguing countries across the world.
    Arkansas Online, 10 July 2022
  • Although she's learned how to deal with her body-image issues, life in the spotlight can sometimes exacerbate them.
    Jeff Nelson, PEOPLE.com, 16 Nov. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'exacerbate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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